Family of 4 escapes house fire in Fenton

FENTON, Mo. _An officer with the St. Louis County Police Department, who is also a former volunteer firefighter, rescued four people from a Fenton home after it caught fire early Friday morning, (Sept. 22).

Around 1:30 a.m., Officer Michael Clinton was driving north on Bowles Avenue when he saw smoke coming from behind a house on Greenmar Drive. When he stopped in front of the home, he could see the back half of the house was on fire.

Clinton called to dispatch and told them to send the fire department.

Clinton said he noticed several cars in the home`s driveway. He walked up to the front door and knocked. No one answered, but Clinton said the door opened so he entered to see if anyone was home.

Clinton said there was a light haze from the smoke inside the home, but he found a woman sleeping in the living room. He woke her up and she told him three other adults were in the home.

Clinton found two people sleeping in the basement. He woke them up and helped them get out of the house. He found the fourth resident near the front of the home.

Clinton has been an officer with the St. Louis County Police Department for four and a half years. Prior to joining the department, he was volunteer firefighter.

"It's stressful to figure out how many people are in the house," said Clinton. "The residents are just waking up, sometimes they don't know who's home, but she was able to tell me there was four people."

No one was injured in the fire. Fire officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation.